Coinbase Adds Litecoin as the Currency Experiences Price Pumps

On the heels of impending Litecoin Segregated Witness activation, Coinbase has added Litecoin functionality. Their users can now buy, sell, and hold Litecoin. This comes as a boon to anyone wanting to expand their cryptocurrency collection on Coinbase.

Coinbase is a Digital Currency Company

In January, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced that they were planning on heading this direction. He said they are not just a bitcoin company. They are a digital currency company. In this vein, they will not only cater to bitcoin enthusiasts and investors—they will broaden their scope to include a plethora of cryptocurrencies. He said,

“As we kick off 2017, I think it’s important for Coinbase and GDAX to continue supporting more cryptocurrencies. We are no longer just a Bitcoin company. We are a digital currency company.”

Armstrong went on to say that he is worried about Bitcoin’s ability to scale and keep transaction fees low. He mentioned he is not betraying bitcoin or losing faith in it as a form of “digital gold.”

He said, “To be clear, I love Bitcoin and it is not going anywhere. It appears to be the reserve currency of the digital currency space — a sort of digital gold if you will.”

Additionally, Litecoin’s founder Charlie Lee has been working with Coinbase as Director of Engineering for some time. According to a TechCrunch article, Lee mentioned there has always been discussions about adding Litecoin functionality to Coinbase. These plans just did not materialize until recently as a result of Litecoin’s slow start. Things have dramatically intensified for the Litecoin ecosystem over the last several weeks, though.

Litecoin, Segwit, and Price Pumps

The Litecoin community recently formed a round table consensus for activation of the Segwit protocol. Most agreed that turning on Segwit is the correct course of action for maintenance and short-term scalability of Litecoin. Most also did, however, agree to implement another soft fork or hard fork when Litecoin requires further scaling.

Shortly after the consensus, Bitcoin.com reported that the Litecoin network surpassed the required number of signaling blocks to activate Segwit. According to the report, after another activation period, Segwit will begin functioning.

Between the news of Segwit activation and Coinbase’s implementation of a Litecoin wallet, the price of Litecoin has seen a significant price pump. The current price on coinmarketcap.com sits at $20.60, with a 24 hour increase of 31.15%.

Do you believe Litecoin has a bright future? Will the price continue to rise? Let us know in the comments below.

Images via Shutterstock and coinbase.com

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